Partying with Natural Hair

Hey!
I am not going to paint myself as a party girl but I am a partier. I feel like many people freak out at the idea of partying with natural hair. However, do not freak out!
It is not as hard as it may seem to style natural hair for a party. However, the thing to remember is that you must work WITH your natural hair and not against it.
Naturally curly hair does what it wants and WHEN it wants to do it. If you do a style and it does not work, improvise.
Clubs and parties will cause you to sweat. I do not recommend a straight hair style. If your perfect braidout frizzes, do not be upset. Keep a hair tie on hand (I keep hair ponytail holders on my ankles when I go out) to put your hair up when it starts to go crazy. You can keep a long, thin elastic headband to put your hair in a puff or you can keep a ponytail holder to put your hair in a bun if it starts to get crazy. As you can see, if your hair style goes south you can always salvage it and rock a different but equally cute style.

The aforementioned skinny headband
Taken from Google Images

You can use a skinny headband to rock a frizzed out braidout or twist out

My braidout had turned into an afro and I wore that as a style before putting it up in a bun  

This post is mostly focused on not salvaging party hairstyles but highlighting natural hairstyles you can try, such as two minibuns, the cascade, and a braidout. 

These are simple easy to do hairstyles.   

One thing about natural club hair styles is that you have to plan ahead in order to minimize the chance of getting frizz. The day before or the day of the event, you should wash and condition your hair. One reason is because partying could be stressful on your hair strands. Smoke can get absorb into hair's porous strands and swinging your hair around for example can cause stress to your hair. Another reason is because it is easier to set a hairstyle on freshly washed hair.   

  Hair styles that needs to be "set" is the braidout and the cascade (which starts on a braidout). Other examples of hair that needs to be set are bantu knot outs and twistouts. (For me personally, braidouts/twistouts/bantu knot outs on wet hair is curlier than those on day's old hair. This is why I prefer to do them on freshly washed, wet hair) It is best to set these hairstyles the day before or several hours before the event to make sure the style is completely dried. If it is not completely dried before you go out for the night, your hair will most likely frizz and the style will most likely  be ruined.

The Minibun

 I simply created a part down the middle then made two minibuns by wrapping my hair around itself. If your hair is too short to make two buns this way, you can use a sock bun for the same affect.    

The "Cascade" 

This hairstyle is called the "cascade" because it falls down the front of your face. In order to create the cascade, start on a braidout (see below for details on how to create a braidout). Then, you must braid a french braid starting from the nape of your neck up the back of your head  to the top of your head. Then you let the rest of your hair fall or "cascade" down the side of your face. As you braid, when you start to get to the top of your head, change the braid direction from straight up to either to the right or to the left so that the hair can fall to the side. You might need bobby pins, edge control, and a setting spray for this style. 

Taken from Google Images

The cascade above was not done on freshly washed hair. Instead, I had washed my hair the day before (4/19/2016) and wore my hair in a wash n'go high puff (4/19).  At the end of the day, I sprayed my hair with setting spray and braided my hair in 6 braids (the collage below). I let the braids set overnight and then during work the next day. Then after work (4/20), I took out the braids for the braidout and followed the directions for the cascade.  It was not done on freshly washed hair, but on damp hair. My hair was damp from the setting spray. Damp or wet hair for me = curlier results. 

The Braidout

 

In order to do a braidout, you must braid 4 to 8 to 12 braids on wet hair (the higher the amount of braids and the smaller the braids are, the curlier the braidout will be) and then simply wait for it to dry.  

This can take several hours, so I recommend doing it the day before the event or several hours before the event (for example, if the event is at 10pm, start the braidout around noon). If your hair has not dried before the event, I recommend the two minibuns hairstyle so that your hair does not frizz. In the pictore above, I made 6 plaits and let it dry overnight and through work the next day. Some people do braidouts with cornrows but I prefer plaits. some people also set braidouts on dry hair so it's all a matter of preference. 

Another thing to keep in mind with braid outs is that you need to see the amount of braids that is perfect for YOUR hair.  

I've discovered that 12 braids make my hair too curly and I cannot do much with it after the first day, so I've stopped doing 12 braids.

 I found that 10 braids give me a very defined braid out such as the picture below: 

8 braids give me a slightly less defined braidout, but this braidout is perfect for the cascade: 

    

If I make anything less than 8 braids, than my hair is not curly enough. It looks more like waves than curls.

I always have two braids in the front for my bangs and then the rest of the braids are evenly spaced from both sides of my head. So if I have two braids already for my bang (one on the left, one on the right), and if I want a total of 10 braids, then I will have 3 braids on the right side of my head and 3 braids on the left side of the head. Then I create 2 braids on my crown (my hair is layered and my crown is the shortest part, so when making braid outs I need to remember to include my crown). 

In the collage above, I braided the bangs and then made 4 braids on each side. I did not braid the crown because that is a technique I've been utilizing only recently.

Another thing to keep in mind with braid outs, is that some like to use perm rollers on the ends of the hair to make the style even curlier. I love doing this but I haven't done it in a while because I usually braid my hair at night and have it set overnight and at work. I can't have perm rollers in my hair at work! I don't take my braids out before work because I wear a hat and I have to put my hair up for work. I try to keep my style in place for the 2-3 days in between wash days. 

What is your go to style for partying?
Do you find any of my tips and suggestions helpful?